Fire Emblem A New Dawn
by Star Mccloud
Summary: ...This is about three years after the Goddess War. My friend, Blaze Hyuga, wrote this. I just editted it. R&R please...
1. Chapter 1

**Fire Emblem**

by: Cameron Hyuga

typed and edited by: Samuel Inuzuka

_(ATTN: All of the credit goes to my best friend ever, Cameron Hyuga. He wrote it. I just edit it to make some sense of it. If you don't like it, then you need to drop dead! No matter how much he says he's not, he's a good writer. He just doesn't have any experience as one yet. This is totally irrelevant to my story, __Fire Emblem Aftermath_._ Please no insulting in the reviews, thank you very much.)_

****

**The Complaining Myrmidon**

**Chapter One**

"We've been walking forever." Marcia complained.

"It's only been ten minutes." replied Rayne.

"Shut up!! That's because I'm only a Myrmidon and you're a TruBlade!" Marcia snapped.

"What does class have anything to do with stamina?" Rayne snapped back.

"Alright, you two, just shut up!!" Albel came between them.

"Okay..." Rayne said.

"Sorry." Marcia replied.

"Sheesh, Albel, Touchy much?" Rayne muttered.

"Hey, stop teasing him!" replied Fayt.

"Ahh, I'm tired," Marcia whined, "Can we rest now?"

"No," Rayne answered, "we have to reach Castle Crimea before dark."

"Why?" Fayt asked, confused.

"I don't know, General Geoffrey just said that the Queen Elincia summoned us."

"We're lost, aren't we?" Marcia stated.

"We are not lost!" Albel yelled at her, "Damn it, Marcia, for a Myrmidon, you sure do complain a lot."

"I do not!"

"Look!" Fayt interrupted.

"YES!" Marcia said relieved, "people! Let's go ask for directions!" Marcia ran towards them.

"Wait, Marcia, NO!" Rayne cried out, but Marcia was already talking to them.

"Excuse me, do you know which way Castle Crimea is?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, we do." their leader said, "but it's a pity that you won't live long enough to get there."

"AHHH!!!" Marcia screamed as she was knocked unconscious.

"MARCIA!!!" Rayne shouted at the top of his voice.

**Battle**

Suddenly all they saw was a bright light and what seemed to be pink flower petals that sliced the strangers thousands of different ways. That's when their savior appeared.

"Wha-what just happened?" Marcia asked herself.

"Marcia!!!" Rayne and the others ran up to the strangers, "Who the hell are you? And what did you do to Marcia?!" He yelled with his blade half-drawn, "ANSWER ME?!"

"Rayne, calm down!" Fayt tried to stop him.

"No! Did you see what he did to Marcia? Let's get him, right Albel?" Albel nodded.

"You could not so much as bend my knee." The rescuer said. Then, out of nowhere, he quickly disappeared and reappeared right behind them and knocked Rayne and Albel out with one swing of his arm.

"What did you d-" Fate screamed.

"Don't worry, they're merely knocked out." He said.

"Just who the hell are you?" Fayt asked.

"I," he started, "am Cameron Hyuga."

"The hell you are!" Fayt snapped, "the real Cameron... he died fighting alongside Sam and Ike in the Goddess War. There's no way you're Ca-" Swiftly, he knocked him out and carried them to Castle Crimea.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"Fayt!!!" Marcia called, "Fayt! Fa-ayyt! FAYT!!! Wake up you idiot!" Marcia yelled loudly.

"AHH!... What!?" Fayt screamed and looked at Marcia angrily.

"Stop messing around!" Marcia snapped at him.

"Uh, where are we?" He asked.

"I... actually have no idea." Marcia answered sheepishly. "A cell, I guess..."

Fayt looked over at Rayne and Albel and asked, "What's with those two?"

"There mopping 'cause they lost to that guy so easily." Marcia smirked.

"WE DIDN'T LOSE TO HIM!!!" They yelled at her.

"Oh, yes you did!" Marcia teased.

Cameron opened the cell door and said, "The Queen will see you now."

"Where are we?" Marcia asked.

"YOU!" Rayne looked at me furiously.

"Yes, it's me. Now follow." he commanded, signaling them to follow.

"Why the hell should we?!" Albel snapped.

"Because," he started, "you want out of this cell."

"Bu-... Fine..." Albel and Rayne were angry, but he was right. They wanted to leave.

What they didn't know was that Cameron was half Laguz. He hid that fact in a dark red robe so he wouldn't startle them. He unlocked the cell door and opened it. Then they walked up a large flight of stairs and down a long, dark hall with only torches. As he opened the next door, a stranger pushed him out of the way and ran down the hall. When he saw what he was carrying, which was Elincia's staff, he said, "Stop thief! Damn it." He started to call out to the others, "Hey, don't let him get away! Catch that thie- oh, never mind." He gently pushed Marcia out of the way and chanted, "Elfire." A large blast of fire traveled down the hall, heating the room up, and hit the thief, causing him to explode!

"Eww..." Marcia was disgusted and looked at the remains of the thief: his boots and his gauntlets. He walked over to the burn spot and picked up Elincia's staff.

"Alright, let's go." he continued through the door, and the others followed. They were almost to the throne room when he stopped them at the door. "Okay, now don't pester the Queen with too many questions. She'll explain the situation to you." He opened the next door and they walked into the throne room. "Now-"

"S-S- Sub-Human!!!" Marcia screamed as soon as she saw a Laguz standing by the Queen. The other three unsheathed their swords.

"WHAT?!" The rescuer roared loud enough that the whole castle rumbled. "What did you just call him?! That's it, nobody calls Sam that!" he yelled as he drew his blade, "BACKLASH W-"

"That's enough!" Queen Elincia halted him, "Sheathe your sword!"

"But they-"

"Now!" She demanded. She snapped her fingers, and in an instant, the castle snipers all aimed their bows at mhim The recruits started whispering to their neighbors.

"...Fine..." he sheathed my blade, "it just inflames me that stupid Beorcs like her," he pointed at Marcia, "think we're monsters. It's been that way ever since I was born. My father, Laguz; my mother, Beorc. My father died protecting the both of us..."

"I'm so sorry..." Marcia sniffed silently.

"...When I grew old enough to play with the other children, they beat me up and threw rocks at me and called me a half breed. When I asked my mother what that meant, she just started crying. That's the first time I saw her like that. That's when it happened... Ashnard showed up and grew a sudden interest in me, but my mother wouldn't budge. Ashnard threatened her, but she had no intent to move. Then Ashnard shoved my mother out of his way and reached his hand out to grab me. But my mother was quicker. She grabbed my father's sword, Tetsuiga, and ran it through Ashnard. He froze for a minute, then suddenly glared at my mother and threw her back. That's when he grabbed his sword and..." a tear ran down his face by this time, "he... killed her..."

The Laguz and Elincia looked away sadly, not wanting to hear anymore.

"Wait, he's also a sub-human?" Marcia whispered to Albel.

"...And Ashnard forced me to witness it... And then I started to run. I ran as fast and far away from Ashnard I could, but when I got so far, I collapsed. That's when Lucia found me and brought me to Crimea. That's when I met Sam. We are similar. Both half Laguz."

Albel interrupted, "Oh, just shut up! Nobody cares! You're just a pathetic, no talent sub-human!"

Sam looked at him, watching his reaction. Cameron stood there, frozen. His face, hidden by his hair. Then anger erupted from within him, "WHAT?!" he roared, and the castle shook even more than before, causing a few of the decorations on the wall to fall off, "That does it! I'm not going to stop this time!" He unsheathed his sword again.

"Elincia!" Sam yelled.

"I know. You have to stop him!" Elincia ordered.

Cameron raised my sword far above my head and roared, "ULTIMATE BACKLA-" At that moment, Sam reached for a staff and chanted, "Sleep!" Then, Cameron fell to the ground and didn't move.

* * *

"I'm sor-" Elincia tried to say, but she was cut off.

"You idiot!" Marcia yelled at Albel, "You could've doomed us all!" She slapped him upside his head, "If he wouldn't have stopped him, we could've been killed. What the hell were you thinking, Albel?!"

"Whatever," Albel replied, "I could've taken him."

Sam walked down the few steps and said, "You don't get it, do you? He's over a thousand times stronger than you!"

"Hmph." Albel replied.

Elincia stopped Sam from continuing and said, "Well, you all must be tired from the events in the past few hours. How does some sleep sound? It's getting late."

"Well, that sounds good to me." Marcia said, "My feet are killing me."

"Lucia," Elincia summoned her, "please show these four to their rooms."

"I'll take Cameron down to his room." Sam said. Sam walked over to his unconscious body and carried him to a dark, warm room and set him down gently on the bed. Before he left the room he muttered, "I told you, don't use that unless you're life is about to end."

Back in the throne room, Ike and Elincia were talking when Sam entered.

"Nice going, Sam." Ike said.

"It's the only way once he's gone that far." Sam said.

"I hope he's okay." Ike said.

"He's just fine. I just put him to sleep."

"Oh, right."

"He knows that he's not supposed to use that attack."

"Hey, why did Cameron want his room all the way down there?"

"He loves the warmth it has. I think it's a little too warm, but he likes it."

"Well, I'm going to bed. See you in the mornin'." Ike left.

"Sam," Elincia said, "Why didn't Cameron tell us about that until now?"

"About what?" Sam asked, confused. But then he understood and answered, "Oh, that. Well, he told me about it. I assumed you knew. He's delt with the same thing that I have. The 'getting beaten' part, I mean."

"...and..." Elincia said sadly.

"Our parents were killed by Ashnard too..." Sam said softly. They sat there for a minute, then Elincia stood up.

"Well, it's nothing that we can deal with. Let's get some sleep."

"Okay, goodnight." Sam and Elincia went to their seperated rooms.

* * *

The first three who woke up was Marcia, Sam, and Ike. Marcia went to the throne room, looking for the Queen. When she entered, all she saw was Sam and Ike.

"Where's Queen Elincia?" She asked the two.

"She's still sleeping." Sam said, "Is there anything you need?"

"Well, yes, there is. A few things, actually. First, I want to say I'm sorry for yesterday. Albel was not right to say the things he did."

"No problem. It bothers me that he thinks that way, though." Sam replied, "What else you need?"

"Well, I wanted to apologize to the other one... Cameron, wasn't it?"

"Oh, okay. Let me go check on him."

Elincia walked into the room and sat in her throne.

"Elincia, I'm going to go check on Cameron, okay?"

"Alright, go ahead." She yawned.

"I'm, uh, going with him." Ike said.

"That's fine." She yawned again.

"Marcia, you want to come too?" Sam asked her.

"Well, okay, since you asked." She answered.

The three walked down down to my room. On the way...

"So, where are your other teammates?" Ike asked.

"Well, Albel is probably still sleeping, Fate went into the garden to train, and Rayne... well, he's probably in town picking up girls." She rolled her eyes, "and he's most likely getting rejected." They laughed for a few seconds, then they reached Cameron's room.

As they opened the door, Sam said, "Hey wake up, Cam-" He wasn't there.

"Where did he go?" Ike asked.

"You think I know?" Sam glared at him, then he noticed something on the corner of his eye, "He didn't take his sword!"

"We gotta find him!" Ike said.

"I'll try to locate him..." Sam stepped forward and transformed into a Fox.

Marcia jumped at this sight. "Is there something wrong?" Ike asked her.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just... Nevermind." She said.

Sam transformed back and said, "He must've left in the darkest hour of the night."

"We got to find him." Ike said, "Maybe Elincia knows where he went."

Sam grabbed Cameron's sword and the three of them dashed up to the throne room, but the Queen was not there. They decided to look in the dining hall, but she wasn't there either.

"Where is she?" Sam said, frusterated.

"What about the sun room?" Ike suggested.

They dashed toward the sun room, which was on the far side of the castle, and they entered through a wooden door. In the room, Elincia and Reyson were sitting at a small table drinking tea.

"Elincia." Ike said.

"Yes?" She responded.

"Cameron's gone!" Sam stated.

"What?!" Elincia said, alarmed. She had almost dropped her tea.

"I don't know what happened," Sam continued, "he must've run off! He didn't even take his sword!"

"Well, is he really that important?" Reyson asked as he sipped his tea.

"Yes!" Sam remarked, "He's my best friend! And he helped us fight the Goddess War to keep us all from turning into stone!"

"Sorry, I didn't know." Reyson said without changing his expression, but after he sensed Sam's emotion, he changed.

Fayt entered the room and said, "Hello... What's going on?"

"Cameron's missing." Marcia said.

"Who?"

"The Laguz from yesterday. The one who almost killed us." She said.

"Oh, he's gone? Rayne's gonna want to hear this." Fayt said. Marcia kicked him, "Ouch!" He yelped.

"Elincia, I'm going to look for Cameron." Sam stated.

"That's fine. But be careful." She said.

"I'm going to." Ike said.

"Me too." Marcia followed.

"Hey, Marcia, don't leave without me." Fayt said, trying to keep up with her.

"You all better be careful." Elincia said.

"Wow, that's some friendship that those Laguz have, huh?" Reyson asked.

"Ever since we found them." Elincia answered.

"Wait, I'm sorry, 'found'?"

Elincia started explaining both Sam's and Cameron's story. Then, Reyson looked out the large window.

"I hope they find him." He said.

"Me too." Elincia finished.

* * *

The four of them were walking through the entrance of the castle.

"Hey, Sam, Ike!" Mist called as she ran up to them.

"What?" Marcia looked behind her.

"Sam, Ike, I have something for you." She pulled out an Elwind tome. "Sam, this is for you." She handed Sam the tome.

"Thanks, Mist. This'll help a lot!" Sam thanked her.

"Alright, let's go." Marcia said impatiently. They started walking again.

"Wait!" Mist called.

"Oh, what now?!" Marcia shouted out.

"Ike, take your sword." She handed him the Ettard.

"Thanks, Mist." Ike said.

"Yep. Oh, and it's been enchanted, so try it out when you get the chance."

"Awesome, thanks."

They continued on their way and walked down a dirt path. That's when it was getting to be a bit much.

"So, where do we look?" Fayt asked.

"Hmmm..." Sam thought for a minute while studying his map, "Ike,"

"Yeah?" Ike responded.

"Where's Mia?" Sam asked.

"In Daein, why?"

"That's where we should look first." Sam said.

"Ugh!" Marcia groaned, "All the way over there?"

"We'll get there faster if we get a head start now." Ike said.

The four of them started walking again down the Eastern Road- that connected Daein and Crimea- and met up with their supply caravan to grab their equipment. After about a half hour of speed walking...

"Oh, my god," Marcia complained, "my feet are killing me..."

"Already?" Sam looked at her surprisingly.

"This always happens with her." Fayt explained.

"Well, we can't stop now." Ike remarked.

"I'm tired..." She groaned.

"Well," Sam started as he looked between the distance of them and Crimea, "We've made some progress. I guess we could take a breather."

"Really?" Marcia said meekly.

"Let's sit down for a minute. I'm getting thirsty." Fayt laid down on his back.

"How much water do we have?" Marcia asked.

Sam and Ike stared at each other for a second, then at Marcia, "Uh... we don't... have any water yet..." Sam said in a guilty tone.

"What?!" Fayt exclaimed.

"Well," Ike started, "there should be a creek or river nearby. We could get water from there."

"Ugh, I don't want to walk!" Marcia whined.

"Okay, I'll go get some water." Sam said, "Ike, where's this creek?"

"Over there," Ike pointed at a small river. "I can't believe you missed it."

"Me too." Sam said as he grabbed their canteens and started walking down to the river.

"I'll go see if I can find any food." Ike started off in his search.

"We'll stay here, right Marcia?" Fayt looked at her.

"I'm not moving for a bit." Marcia smirked. Marcia started to take her boots off. "Ahh..." she said, relieved, "much better."

About another five minutes later, Sam and Ike came back carrying water and berries. The four ate and drank a little, then Ike, Sam and Fayt stood up, ready to go, but Marcia was still sitting down.

"What's wrong, Marcia?" Sam asked.

"I'm just getting these damn boots on." she struggled, "I hate wearing these!"

"Why don't you get new ones?"

"We don't have enough money. What we have is what we got."

"Really?"

"Yeah... It's not as bad as it sounds, though."

"So are you mercanaries or something?"

"I guess you could say that."

"Can I help you up?" Sam held out his hand.

"Oh, uh, thanks." She grabbed it and pulled herself up.

"Hey, are you guys coming?" Ike called, walking towards Daein.

"We'll catch up!" Sam called back, "Let's go Marcia."

"Alright." She said, following behind Sam.

About fifteen minutes later, Marcia started whining again.

"I'm so tired..." She whined.

"What?" Ike asked, shocked, "We just took a break fifteen minutes ago!"

"Don't be surprised," Fayt cockily remarked, "she does this all the time."

"I do not!" Marcia yelled at him.

"Whatever!" Fayt retorted.

Suddenly, Sam noticed a figure swiftly jogging towards them, and instantly knew who it was. As the person jogged up to them, their image was becoming clearer.

"Hey, Mia, where are you headed?" Sam asked.

Mia stopped jogging and caught her breath. Then she said, "I'm on my way to see Queen Elincia... Where are you guys headed?"

"We were going to Daein to ask you a question," Sam explained, "but now that you're here, you saved us the long walk."

"Huh? What is it?"

"Have you seen Cameron recently? He disappeared overnight and we can't find him."

"Well, yeah, I saw Cameron." She answered.

"Really? Great!" Sam exclaimed, then he looked around, "Uh... Where is he?"

"Probably still in Daein. He said he had to do something..."

"Did he tell you?"

"...No, he didn't..."

"Oh..."

"Mia, what do you need to see Elincia for?" Ike suddenly asked.

"I was called there by Elincia." She explained.

_She's pretty hot! _Fayt thought to himself, but Marcia knew what he was thinking by the way he was looking at Mia.

"Oh, okay." Sam said, "Be careful, and tell them we're fine."

"Alright, bye!" Mia started running towards the capitol.

"...Fayt, you have no chance." Marcia whispered.

"What are you-?"

"Don't act dumb, you like her."

"No I don't." Fayt said sternly.

"Oh, please, it's all over your face." Marcia laughed. Fayt blushed.

"Come on you two," Ike said, "let's go."

They continued on their way to Daein...


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Back in the Crimea Castle Throne Room, Elincia, Titania, Boyd, Lucia and Geoffrey were just hanging around when Rayne bolted in.

"Where is she?!" He shouted.

"Who?" Elincia asked.

"Marcia, where in the hell is she?!"

"Hey, watch it," Boyd snapped, "you're in the presence of the Queen of Crimea! Show some respect!"

"I don't care," Rayne shot back, "Where is she?!"

"Why you litt-"

"Enough," Geoffrey interrupted Boyd from continuing, "Elincia, you may speak..." He bowed.

"Thank you, Geoffrey." She bowed her head, then shot her attention at Rayne, "How may I help you?"

"What are you, deaf? Where's Marcia?" Rayne rudely asked.

Elincia was getting annoyed at this point, but didn't show it and just answered, "She went with my two strongest men with your other partner, Fayt, to look for Cameron, the Laguz from yesterday."

"Damnit, Marcia..." Rayne muttered. Then, he was just about to grab his stuff when two guards stopped him with their lances.

"Hold it," Elincia started, "I'm afraid I can't let you go after her."

"I'd like to see you stop me." He replied angrily.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I guess I can't make you stay," Elincia said, then the guards lifted their lances, "but if you leave the capitol, you'll die."

"Is that a threat?" Rayne smirked.

"No, it's a promise." Elincia started to tremble a little.

Rayne noticed it and then laughed, "Ha, I get it! The big, strong Queen is gonna sick her minions on me if I leave 'cause she's too damn weak to fight for herself." Rayne started mocking her, "Oh, look at me! I'm Elincia! I can't fight for myself, and I'm a cry baby who can't run this country!" He stopped mocking her and went back to insulting her, "Oh, I'm scared now! You are a weak, spineless, useless waste of space!"

Everyone's jaw dropped and they were speechless. Elincia closed her eyes and tears ran down her cheek. Then she just calmly walked to her room, starting to cry. Albel entered the room when Rayne started to insult the Queen.

"Nice going, moron." He said, punching his arm.

"I don't believe you!" Lucia stormed towards Rayne, "Elincia helped you in so many ways! And what do you do in return!?" she was face to face with him, "You yell at her, mock her, and throw so many insults at her... What the hell is your problem?! Marcia and Fayt are just fine with Sam and Ike! Don't you ever insult her again, understand?! Or else!"

"Are you trying to pick a fight?" Albel snapped.

"Sorry, but I don't fight weaklings! It wouldn't be fair to you!" Lucia shot back.

"Alright, that's enough!" Titania ordered, she pointed at Albel and Rayne, "You two, back to your rooms!" They did what they were told. They were startled by her.

"And Lucia, drop it." Geoffrey added.

"But... Okay..." Lucia turned her back on the two guys, "Geoffrey, I'm going to go check on Elincia."

"Aright, see if she's okay." He responded.

As Rayne and Albel were walking down a hall, Albel said, "Hey, let's go to the garden and train instead."

"Sweet," Rayne replied, "alright, let's go."

Suddenly, before they could move, Mia appeared in front of them with her sword leveled at their necks and said, "Alright, I want to know, and I want to know now. Who made Elincia cry?"

_DAMN! SHE'S HOT!_Rayne's mind was going crazy with thoughts for Mia. "I did, so what?" he finally answered, "Why? Want to make something of it?"

"Maybe..." Mia stated.

"Well then, let's make it a little more interesting, if you win, we'll both go apologize to Queen Elincia. But, if I win, you have to go out with me fore-"

"Hell no! NO DEAL!" Mia blurted.

"Why not?" Rayne asked, getting annoyed.

"Because... I'm already with someone..." Mia blushed.

"Well, spit it out!" Albel snorted.

"Cameron Hyuga..." Mia blushed heavier than before, "He's so strong, brave, and he's super cute!" She sighed dreamily.

"...This is boring. Let's just start fighting!" Albel yelled.

"It's no use," Oscar walked into the hall, "once Mia's like this, she's stuck like that for a long time. She just loves Hyuga... Well, in any case, you better get some sleep. It's late."

"...Damn..." Rayne mumbled.

"Alright..." Albel grabbed Rayne by his shirt's collar and dragged him back to their rooms.

"Good night, you two. Don't be late for breakfast." Oscar said. Then Oscar turned to Mia and said, "You should get to bed soon, too."'

Mia sighed, then said, "Oh, alright." She reached for a heart shaped pendent that was around her neck, "Cameron, be careful." Then she held it closely to her heart and put it back under her shirt. She started walking towards her room for a night's rest...

* * *

Meanwhile, southwest of Daein's capitol, Nevassa...

"Damn it..." Cameron was running through the trees, "Where's that lazy TruBlade Stefan?" A dim light was coming up in front of him and he jumped off the tree, landing on the ground softly. But, luck was not on his side. He took a step forward when a twig snapped underneath his feet and a single arrow was shot from the distance, sticking into a nearby tree. Appearently, Cameron stumbled across a Bandit Hideout.

"TRESSPASSER!" the bandit shouted, "Kill him! Take his gold and possessions!"

"Agh, I don't have time for this!" He said. A few more arrows started flying directly at him. "Flame Rotation!" Cameron spun at a fast pace and was surrounded by a fire barrier that burned the arrows, the ground, and the trees around him, into ashes.

"He's not human! He's a sub-human," a bandit screamed, "watch out!"

Cameron's rage was unleashed and darted into the center of the hideout and shouted, "Engulfing Flames Explosion!" He charged up his fire energy and unleashed it directly below him, causing the entire area to be swallowed up by the flames emitted by him. He was dazed by the amount of energy he unleashed and fell backwards. When he stood up, he looked around at the burnt scar he left. "Damn it!" He roared, "Why do I keep destroying things?!" He broke down right there and collapsed. Then, it started raining lightly...

* * *

Back at the road...

"Ugh, I'm sooo tired..." Marcia whined.

"OH, MY GOD!" Ike just lost it, "AGAIN!?"

"Ike, calm down." Sam said.

"Oh, I'm sorry... It's these boots." She explained, "They're killing my feet."

"Are you going to be okay?" Fayt asked.

"I-I'll try..." Marcia said quietly.

"This may seem odd, but," Sam started, "get on my back."

"Huh?" Marcia looked at Sam wierdly.

"I'll carry you. It'll save us time, and Ike's sanity." Sam joked.

"Oh, ha ha... Very funny." Ike sarcastically remarked.

"Uh, well, okay..." She climbed onto his back, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Sam started to walk, "just hang on, alright?"

"O-okay." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Fayt, how fast can you run?" Sam asked.

"Pretty fast." Fayt replied.

"Alright, Ike, are you ready?" Sam asked.

"Yep. On three, we go." Ike started counting, "One. Two. Three!"

Sam, Fayt and Ike started running as fast as they could to reach the border town faster. As they ran, Marcia asked, "How long will it take to get there?" Sam answered, "At this pace? In a at the most, a half hour. Maybe less." then he just kept running. Sam was in front, followed by Fayt, and finally Ike. About twenty minutes after running, Sam's ankle started to hurt, and he started slowing down. The others did the same.

"What's wrong, Sam?" Fayt asked.

"It's my ankle. It's acting up again." Sam said.

"What's wrong with it?" Marcia asked as she jumped off of Sam's back.

"Well, it's a long story... And I don't really like talking about it." Sam replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Marcia softly commented.

"It's alright. And look," Sam pointed in front of him, "there's the town, Yonway."

"Whew, finally!" Marcia jumped up and down, excited.

Suddenly, a complete stranger came out of nowhere and snuck up behind Marcia, smashing her back with his fist, which knocked her out. "Heh, an Ashera Icon! This'll fetch a pretty penny." his voice sounded gruff and dark.

"Marcia!!!" Fayt yelled.

"Halt!" Ike commanded as the thief ran off with the stolen item.

"Oh, no you don't." Sam said, opening the new Elwind tome that he recieved from Mist. Then he chanted, "Elwind!" and blades of wind formed, surrounding the thief. Sam moved his wrist in a pattern, and the air blades shot directly through the thief, slicing him to the ground. Fayt ran up to the thief, kicked him in the gut, and took the icon back.

"Marcia!" Fayt yelled again as he ran up to her, "Marcia, are you okay? Marcia?!"

"This isn't good," Ike said.

"No, this is the best possible thing!" Sam retorted sarcastically, "We gotta get her to a hotel. There's one in Yonway. I know the owner."

"Alright, let's go." Ike said while picking Marcia up.

"Hey," Fayt snapped, "be carefull with her!"

"Don't worry, I've done this before." Ike stated.

The three of them ran to Yonway as fast as they could, darted through the gates and to the entrance of the Crawshord Hotel. Sam opened the door fast and heavily, causing a few people in the hotel to glance at them. The receptionist was talking to the manager when Sam briskly walked up to the desk.

"Pardon me," Sam started politely, "could we get four rooms tonight?"

"Oh, hey Sam," the manager greeted, "sure. Hilda, if you'll please..."

"H-here are th-the room keys." She stuttered, "They're the last four doors on the right, down that hall." She pointed.

"Thanks, Wil, Hilda." Sam said, taking the keys. "How much is it?"

"Uh... F-four hundred gold..." She shyly answered.

"Ike, Fayt, take Marcia to one of the rooms." Sam said, tossing them a key.

"Oh, Hilda, don't be silly," Wil said, "How does one hundred sound?"

"O-one hundred, sir?" She said, uncertain of his comment.

"No, no, it's fine." Sam said, taking out a small bag, "Here's three hundred, it's all I have."

"That will do." the lenient manager said.

"Thank you." Sam started walking to Marcia's room.

As Sam walked in the door, he saw Fayt on the edge of Marcia's bed and Ike was staring out the window.

"Sam," Fayt started, "can't you do something?"

"Well, I have a heal staff, but I don't think that'll do any good." He replied, "It's only for bleeding, open wounds. But, I'll try." Sam reached for his staff that Ike put in his bag and held it over Marcia. Then Sam chanted a few words in the Ancient Language, and the staff started glowing a deep blue. When the glowing stopped, Sam put his staff back in the bag. Fayt just stood there, annoyed.

"...Well?" Fayt remarked impatiently.

Sam sighed, then said, "She's unconscious. There's nothing more we can do except wait until she comes to."

"Damn it." Fayt mumbled.

"Well," Ike started, "it's getting late. I think I'll turn in."

"Alright, here's your key." Sam handed a key to Ike, "Don't lose it."

"heh, don't worry." Ike said, "'Night." Ike walked out of the room.

"See ya in the mornin'." Sam said. Then he turned his attention to Fayt, "You better get some sleep, too."

"I know. I will." Fayt replied.

"Alright. Good night." Sam walked out.

_Marcia, _Fayt thought, _I'm sorry. This would've never happened if I paid more attention. _Fayt drifted off into sleep beside Marcia...

* * *

_(**ATTN**: Now, I know what most of you are thinking... If you don't like it, then shut up and never read this again. If, however, you do like it, then please leave your comments in a review. Thank you, and remember, don't insult. Criticize.)_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Cameron was running across the rooftops of Nevassa, Daein's capitol, trying to reach the castle. It was about mignight when Cameron reached the front gate and jumped from the rooftop, landing right in front of the castle's guards, startling them.

"Hold it!" the guards stopped him.

"Let me through!" he roared.

"Absolutely not!" One of the guards said.

"Nobody shall disrupt the queen's rest!" The other guard scolded.

"Hmph, well then..." Cameron glared at the guards, "If you won't move aside, then I'll have to do this!" That's when he suddenly vanished.

"What the- AAAUGGHHH!!!" Cameron reappeared behind the guards and ripped through their armor with his claws.

"That'll teach you to piss me off." Cameron smirked. Then he sensed an arrow being shot from behind him. He swiftly spun around, held out his arm and snapped his fingers. The arrow caught fire and disintegratedinstantly. Then he noticed snipers on the castle walls aiming for him. "Heheheh," Cameron laughed, "This is gonna be fun..."

Cameron suddenly disappeared again, but this time, he reappeared behind the snipers. "Take this!" Cameron punched the first sniper right off of the wall, and the others were trying to capture him. Cameron just kept throwing them off the wall, and soon, the were all gone. To Cameron's surprise, there were loads of guards on the ground below him, trying to bring him down. All he did was jump from the wall and landed on top of a guard, smashing him into the ground. That's when the guards combined their forces and attacked Cameron simultaneously. He was thrown back a bit, but he got back on his feet and darted towards the guards. One by one, he slashed with his claws, brutally injuring the guards. Then a woman appeared at the castle's front door.

"All forces, withdraw!" She commanded. It was Micaiah, the Daein Queen. The guards did what they were commanded and fell back. "Cameron, what do you think you're doing?!" She yelled at Cameron.

"Micaiah," Cameron started, "Have you seen Stefan?"

"What?" Micaiah's expression looked like she was thinking, 'I'm going to kill you', which amused Cameron.

"Where's Stefan?" Cameron repeated.

"You wake me up in the middle of the night, attack my guards, and then have the nerve to act like none of this had happened?!" She was pissed.

"Well, when you put it that way, it doesn't sound good... But I really don't care. Just tell me, where is Stefan?" Cameron demanded an answer.

"No, I haven't."

"Damnit, where in the hell is he?" Cameron shouted.

"I need you to leave... Now!" She yelled louder that she ever had in her life.

"You really haven't seen him?" Cameron tried again.

"NO! I don't know where he is! Get outta here!" she screamed.

"Alright, alright... Sheesh..." Cameron started walking away when he said, "If these are your forces, you're doomed."

"What do you mean by that?" Micaiah looked at him curiously.

"What I mean is, you might want to train your guards a little more if you want to keep your title as Queen."

Sothe suddenly appeared behind him and sternly said, "I'm warning you, don't say anything you'll regret."

Cameron pushed him aside lightly and responded, "Whatever, I'm just tryin' to help you protect yourself- just in case."

"Just in case?" Sothe asked.

"Well, seeing as you two can't help me, I'm outta here. Later." Cameron started running towards the gate and jumped over it.

"Micaiah," Sothe ran up to here, "are you okay?"

She just looked out into the black and blue sky blankly. Then she replied, "...Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine."

"Well, I'm gonna hit the sack. You might want to do the same. Goodnight." Sothe walked back into the castle.

"Goodnight." Micaiah called back. Then she looked briefly back up into the sky and asked herself, "...Am I really a good queen?"

Cameron was running out of the capitol when he said, "Damn, where is he? ...Oh well, I guess I better head home, then." He picked up his speed and headed in the direction of Crimea.

* * *

Marcia slowly opened her eyes and sat up in her bed, stretching her arms up and out. Then she yawned, looked down and noticed Fayt laying on her stomach. "What the heck?" She stared down at him. _You must've been worried about me... Thank you, Fayt..._

That's when Sam knocked on the door and entered. "You awake yet?" He asked her.

"Yeah. Good morning. Where are we?"

"We're in a hotel. You were knocked unconscious by a thief."

"Where's Ike?"

"Still sleeping, probably. Should we wake them up?"

"Okay." Sam left the room to wake Ike up, "Alright, now... Waky, waky sleepyhead!" She poked him. Fayt felt the poke and slipped down. He was woken up, but what he had realized shocked him: his head was in Marcia's lap. Sam and Ike walked into the room at this time, witnessing everything.

Sam stifled a laugh before saying, "I-I'm not going to say anything." Ike just busted out laughing. Marcia blushed a deep crimson, and Fayt just shot up.

"M-M-Marcia I-I'm s-sor-sorry." Fayt's entire face was flushed, almost like a strawberry.

"Uh... That's, er, okay..." Marcia stuttered.

"Well, we shouldn't stick around here for too long." Ike said.

"Alright then. But if I am to get ready, I need you guys to leave." Marcia pointed at the door.

"Oh, right." Sam said, "Don't take too long."

"You can't rush looks this good." She remarked.

"Oh, before I forget," Sam started before leaving, "here you go." Sam tossed a large bag to Marcia.

"Thanks! What is it?" Marcia thanked as she caught the bag.

"Trust me, you'll like it." Sam left Marcia's room.

When Marcia reached into the bag, she felt what was in it, and smiled greatfully. "Thank you so much, Sam." She then started to get ready for the long walk to Daein, which she knew would go ten times better than it would normally go thanks to Sam's gift.

After the four of them got cleaned and ready, they met up in the main lobby. Sam finished checking them out of the hotel.

"Alright, let's head out." Sam called, signalling the others to follow.

Sam, Ike, Marcia and Fayt walked towards the eastern gate to get back on the road when Sam heard a scream on the other side of town.

"What the?!" Sam gasped.

Marcia looked at him and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I just heard someone scream."

"I didn't hear anything." Fayt stated.

"Neither did I." Ike said.

"You sure you heard something?" Marcia asked with a worried expression.

"I'm positive. It came from the North side of town." Sam looked in the direction of the northern gate.

"Should we check it out?" Fayt asked.

"Well, duh!" Marcia slapped Fayt upside the head.

"Ow! What was that for!?" Fayt yelled.

"We're helping her! That's that."

"That's the attitude that won us the war!" Ike said.

"Let's not waste time. Let's go!" Sam said as he started running. The others followed close behind.

**Battle**

When they reached the northern gate's entrance (or in this case, exit) Sam, Ike, Fayt and Marcia looked around for the source of the scream, but they didn't see anything. A young girl wearing a green dress and pink hair approached the Fox Laguz with tears running down her face.

"What's the matter?" Sam knelt down and met the girls's eyes.

"They took her..." she sniffled.

"They took who?"

"The bad people... They took my mama away!"

"Which way did they go?"

The little girl pointed at the gate, "They took her out there!"

"Alright. Now don't worry, my friends and I will get your mama back. Stay here." Sam stood up.

"What about Daein?" Fayt asked, getting impatient.

"Look, I don't know about you," Sam glared at him, "but this girl's mother is in danger. I'm trying to keep peace in these lands, and if there are criminals, then they either need to be taken out, or locked up in prison. Someone needs my help. I'm not letting that little girl down!"

"Ugh," Fayt groaned, "alright, fine. Let's just get this over with."

The four of them darted out the gate, down a dirt path, and into an empty field. Sam was trying to follow the scent of the trail. Then they stopped as they saw a group of burly men on the other side of the field. One of them had a woman tied up and over his shoulder. Her face was covered in a burlap sack.

"Hey," Sam yelled, "put her down if you know what's good for you!"

"Well, well, well," He started, "what do we have here? I smell a money opportunity!"

"What?" Sam said.

"Alright..." he pushed the woman into a tree and tied her to it, "you don't go anywhere. We'll take care of these weaklings."

"Weaklings? Really? You obviously don't know your history." Ike commented.

"What in the hell are you talking about?" The leader said.

"I am-" Ike was interrupted by Sam.

"Look, that doesn't matter right now." Sam said to Ike, then turned his attention at the bandits, "You're going down!"

"This'll be fun." Fayt said, looking at the oncoming bandits amusingly.

"Marcia," Sam said, "you gonna be alright?"

"I'll manage." She answered, quivering a little.

The team of four ran towards the bandits, waiting for them to attack. "Scatter!" Sam called out. Sam and Ike darted in opposite directions while Fayt and Marcia did the same. Fayt moved with Ike, and Marcia moved with Sam. The bandits went directly at Sam. "What the-?" Sam gasped, confused and overwhelmed by the number of bandits quickly surrounding him. He readied himself to retaliate. Three of the bandits lifted their axes up over their heads and were about to shop Sam into pieces when Ike swung his sword and a fast, bright blade shot out from the tip of the sword and pierced the three of them through their necks. Fayt darted to aid Sam when four more bandits were knocked back a few feet by Sam. Five more bandits appeared, and Marcia was shaking a lot.

Sam quickly dashed in front of the brigands and clawed his stomach and chest right down the middle. Ike ran up to another one and cut his from their hip up through the opposite shoulder. Fayt had stabbed the third one in the neck. There were many thoughts running through Marcia's head at that time. She knew what she had to do now... The remaining bandit ran directly towards Marcia at a blinding speed. Much too fast for Ike or Fayt to react. "Marcia!!!" Fayt shouted. Sam darted right at the bandit, attempting to stop him before he reached her. The axe was raised at Marcia, and she was about to be split, when the axe came down. Fayt tightly closed his eyes, not wanting to watch his crush get chopped in two. That's when Marcia, as quickly as she could, jumped out of the way at the last possible moment and sliced the bandit through his chest. Fayt slowly opened his eyes in amazement as Sam and Ike ran to Marcia, who just stood there motionless, and joined them.

"Marcia?" Sam asked, "Marcia, you okay?"

"Y-yeah. I-I'm f-f-fine." She was shaking like crazy. Fayt got closer to her.

"Marcia, what's wrong?" Fayt asked concerned. Blood was dripping from her back.

"Marcia! You're hurt." Ike stepped forward, but Marcia held up a hand and stopped him.

"I'm fine. It's nothing..." She grunted. Then she started to fall when Fayt caught her.

"Marcia, you need to be treated!" Fayt said.

"I'll do it." Sam walked behind Marcia, "it doesn't really look that bad. I could heal it, no sweat." He reached behind him, grabbed a Mend staff and held it over the cut. The bandit hit her with the blade of the axe right before she ran through him with her sword. "Ike, go get the woman. I'll stay here and heal her."

"Got it." Ike ran towards the woman.

"Heal her, quick!" Fayt demanded.

"Would you be patient? I'm on it!" Sam continued to hold the staff over the wound and started chanting words from the Ancient Language. A blue aura surrounded the wound and started closing it. Sweat was dripping from Fayt's face and Marcia winced a little as she was healed... After about two minuted of healing, the wound was gone.

"Thanks, Sam." Fayt said.

"Don't worry about it. We're all friends, right? It's what I do." Sam stated. "Marcia, can you move?"

"I think so... thank you." She said as she stood up.

"That was scary." Fayt commented.

"Yeah... Are you alright now?" Sam asked.

"The pain is gone. It's a miracle." Marcia said.

"No, it's magic!" Sam said. The three of them started laughing when Ike rushed over to them with the woman running behind her.

"Ike! Ike, I love you!" She called. She was dressed in a pink and red cloak and had long, black hair.

"Ack! Get away from me! What's wrong with you!?" Ike shouted.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Sam tried to ask, but she just ran right past her. "Ike, who is that?"

"It's Aimee!" Ike yelled.

"Oh, from the merchant band." Sam said. "Wait, she has a daughter... How in the hell?"

"Ike, I've always wanted you! Come 'ere!" Aimee just kept on chasing Ike. Sam, Fayt and Marcia just busted out laughing their asses off watching this chase. After about fifteen minutes of chasing, Aimee and Ike started to grow tired, and they fell on the ground.

Sam lent out a friendly hand and helped Ike up, saying, "Wow, uh, that was, er, awkward." Sam stiffled a laugh.

"Oh, shut up." Ike said, punching Sam's arm jokingly.

"Ike, you can get a head start back to town if you want and let that girl know that her mother has been rescued." Sam said.

"Um... Okay, thanks." Ike thanked and started walking back towards the town.

"Fayt, how's Aimee doin'?" Sam asked.

"She's out of breath, but she seems fine." Fayt answered.

"Now what are we going to do?" Marcia asked.

"Well-" Sam started, only to be interrupted by an arrow that just barely grazed his face, which resulted in bleeding.

A voice appeared out of nowhere, "What did you do to her?"

"We didn't do anything!" Fayt called back.

"She just started chasing our general and wore herself out, honest!" Marcia explained.

"Wait... That voice..." Sam looked in the direction of where the arrow came from. He recognized it immediately.

"I don't believe you for a second." The voice said, "I'm gonna kill you all right here with only three arrows."

"Shinon, if you fire at us, I won't resist to attack!" I called.

"What are you saying?" He jumped out of a tree.

"In other words, if you shoot, I'll retaliate, and you'll die."

"...You're a Laguz, aren't you?" He said.

"If you can't tell who I am, then you might remember this name: Ike."

"You're Sam, aren't you."

"Duh! Now put that bow down before you hurt someone." Shinon put his bow on his back and walked over to Aimee, lifting her to her feet.

"You okay, Babe?" Shinon said.

"Oh, thank you, Shinon." she said.

Sam just stared with his jaw dropped. Then he asked, "You two? You're- But I thought- ...Huh?"

"We got together after the Goddess war." Aimee replied.

"Wait, if you're with him, then why are you still in love with the General?"

"Oh, please! Get real! I was never into him. I was just teasing him. It was a joke!" She explained.

"...Uhh, okay..." Sam just backed up a few steps slowly.

"Let's be off now." Shinon stated.

"Thanks for saving me." Aimee said as they walked towards the town. Then Aimee started telling Shinon about how she was rescued and blah, blah blah, blah blah...

"So, uh... What do we do now?" Marcia asked again.

"Well, lets go, uh, get Ike and then we can get back on the road..." Sam said quietly and confused, "To Daein!.." He showed little enthusiasm.

"Okay!" Fayt and Marcia started running back to town. Sam was getting his thoughts organized before trailing behind them.

* * *

After an hour of explainations and such, the four of them got back on the road and headed to Daein's capitol, Nevassa. After traveling on the road for a day, they finally made it to the capitol. It was well past midnight, but they went to an inn that was by the edge of town.

"Here's the inn." Ike said. "Let's check in and get a good night's sleep."

"I'm all for that." Marcia said.

When they walked in, the woman behind the counter greeted them, "Good evening. Are you going to be spending the night here?"

"Yes, ma'am." Ike said.

"Okay, for the four of you, that'll be... three hundred gold."

"Alright, I'll get this." Sam said and pulled out the money, but Ike stopped him.

"No, you paid last time. I'll get it." Ike said as he gave the receptionist the gold.

"Thank you. Your rooms are the last four on the left side of the hall on this floor."

"Thank you." The four of them said. They started walking to their rooms when the lady stopped them.

"Um, I'll need your weapons." She said, presenting the table.

"Er...why?" Fayt raised an eyebrow.

"It may disturb and worry the guests." She explained, then she said, "Don't worry- we'll take excellent care of them."

"Uh... Alright, then." Sam said as he put his blade down on the desk. Fayt and Ike did the same thing. Marcia wasn't moving.

"Marcia." Ike said. She didn't answer. "Marcia... Marcia!"

"Huh? What?" Marcia snapped out of it.

"Put your sword with ours on the desk." Ike commanded.

"Um, okay..." She placed her blade down.

"Thank you, enjoy your stay." the lady said.

"Well, I'm gonna go get some sleep." Ike said.

"Me too." Marcia replied.

"Alright, let's get some sleep." Sam said, "Goodnight, everyone."

The four of them went into their seperate rooms and slept. In Marcia's room, she was thinking what happened the previous day. Then she started thinking, _Hmmm... I wonder what Rayne and Albel are doing. I hope their alright, and not worrying about me..._ Then she too, drifted into sleep...


End file.
